Shafiq’s headquarters case postponed

The Giza Criminal Court postponed the case of 13 defendants accused of burning down the headquarters of former presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq.

The court ordered the release of all 13 defendants and postponed the case to 3 September. The defendants include prominent activists Mona Seif and Alaa Abdel Fattah, who are also siblings.

Shafiq’s campaign headquarters in Dokki were set ablaze in May 2012 by unidentified men. A complaint was filed by a member of Shafiq’s campaign accusing Seif, Abdel Fattah and others of setting fire to the building, but the complaint was later waived. The case was reopened based on the orders of Prosecutor General, Tala’at Abdallah.

Abdel Fattah said that he went to the headquarters to see what was happening, and that he arrived on the scene after the building had been torched.

Abdel Fattah handed himself in to the prosecution in March after an arrest warrant was issued against him and four other activists for violence against Muslim Brotherhood members.

His sister Seif founded the No to Military Trials for Civilians movement which aims to end military trials for Egyptian civilians.